Identifying populations at risk: interdisciplinary environmental climate change tracking.
Laura Anderko1, John Davies-Cole, Andrew Strunk
1School of Nursing and Health Studies, Georgetown University, Washington, District of Columbia.
Public Health Nursing (Boston, Mass.)
|October 17, 2014
Summary
Climate change impacts health, necessitating environmental public health tracking. Surveillance data revealed health disparities in asthma and acute myocardial infarction (AMI) hospitalizations among specific demographics.
Area of Science:
- Environmental health
- Climate change impacts
- Public health surveillance
Background:
- Extreme weather events like heat waves worsen air quality, highlighting health risks of climate change.
- Rapid environmental changes pose significant, under-addressed public health threats.
Purpose of the Study:
- To build capacity for an Environmental Public Health Tracking Network.
- To assess health vulnerabilities and disease burden related to climate change factors.
- To analyze hospitalizations for asthma and acute myocardial infarction (AMI).
Main Methods:
- Two-phase study utilizing climate and health data from the District of Columbia.
- Examined associations between air quality (PM2.5, PM10, ozone) and hospitalizations.
- Employed Poisson regression for time-series analysis of daily hospitalization counts.
Main Results:
- No significant associations found between air pollutants (PM2.5, PM10, ozone) and asthma or AMI hospitalizations.
- Surveillance data identified significant disparities in asthma and AMI hospitalizations.
- Disparities were particularly noted among female and African American residents.
Conclusions:
- Environmental Public Health Tracking Networks are essential for evaluating community vulnerabilities.
- Tracking networks facilitate targeted public health interventions and policy development.
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